Environmental properties of 3M Novec 1230

The very low water solubility of Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid and the low degree of decomposition into water do not allow to consider atmospheric hydrolysis as a meaningful removal mechanism.

Environmental properties of 3M™ Novec™ 1230

The main reason for the decomposition of 3M Novec 1230 is photolysis. The compound exhibits strong absorption of energy at near ultraviolet range, resulting in a very short atmospheric lifetime. The rate of photolysis under atmospheric conditions and the mechanism of decomposition of this compound have been investigated by two different research groups.

The photolysis rate of fluorinated ketone determines its atmospheric lifetime in gaseous state to be of approximately 1 week, which is consistent with the 3M study that found the atmospheric lifetime of Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid to be approximately 5 days.